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Did you know that FIRE staff are available to speak at your school? As the month of October begins, now is a great time to start planning a FIRE lecture!

If you want to start a conversation about free speech and protecting student rights on your campus, then hosting a speaker from FIRE’s Speakers Bureau is an important step. For example, after a FIRE lecture at the University of Virginia, FIRE worked with the dean of students, and within months, the university’s restrictive speech codes were gone and the university earned a “green light” from FIRE! With your help, this could happen at your school too.

FIRE advocates for rights that protect all students, so any campus group can host a lecture. A political group, a student government, a women’s studies department, an art club—any student organization can serve as a host for a FIRE event! Also, any number of diverse groups can co-host a FIRE lecture. At a FIRE lecture at the University of California, San Diego, 11 different publications and political groups from across the political spectrum were co-sponsors. Co-hosting a lecture with another group not only is a great way to utilize your First Amendment rights and start engaging in dialogue, but it also makes for easier planning, promotion, and funding of a lecture.

Even if you have never planned a campus event before, FIRE staff will walk you through the steps to make sure your lecture is a success. The first step of hosting a FIRE lecture is easy. All you have to do is take a look at our Speakers Bureau page and click “Request” at the bottom. We have already had several FIRE lectures since September, and we have more than 10 scheduled for the rest of the semester, so be sure to contact us soon! If you have any questions about hosting a speaker, please feel free to contact me personally at emily@thefire.org, or visit our Speakers Bureau page at thefire.org/speakers-bureau.